Saturday, 3 January 2009

The European Community (European Union) Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration activities sets out the European level activities.

The current Framework Programme is the seventh – FP7 – and it runs from 2007 to 2013.

Specific progammes implement the framework. The programmes are called Cooperation, Ideas, People and Capacities. In addition there are the direct actions by the Joint Research Centre.

We look at the treaty level provisions and refer to the relevant secondary legislation.

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Article 166 TEC

Article 166 (ex Article 130i) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) is the legal base for a multiannual framework programme. This programme is adopted according to the co-decision procedure and it shall set out all the European Community’s activities in research and technological development.

The indents present the main characteristic of this framework.

The framework programme can be adapted or supplemented during its lifetime.

Specific implementing programmes are adopted within the framework by the Council.

The current Article 166 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), as published in the latest consolidated version of the treaties, OJEU 29.12.2006 C 321 E/121–122:

(TITLE XVIIIRESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT)

Article 166 TEC

1. A multiannual framework programme, setting out all the activities of the Community, shall be adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 after consulting the Economic and Social Committee.

The framework programme shall:

— establish the scientific and technological objectives to be achieved by the activities provided for in Article 164 and fix the relevant priorities,

— indicate the broad lines of such activities,

— fix the maximum overall amount and the detailed rules for Community financial participation in the framework programme and the respective shares in each of the activities provided for.

2. The framework programme shall be adapted or supplemented as the situation changes.

3. The framework programme shall be implemented through specific programmes developed within each activity. Each specific programme shall define the detailed rules for implementing it, fix its duration and provide for the means deemed necessary. The sum of the amounts deemed necessary, fixed in the specific programmes, may not exceed the overall maximum amount fixed for the framework programme and each activity.

4. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt the specific programmes.

(a) in paragraph 4, the words ‘The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission’ shall be replaced by ‘The Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure’;

(b) the following new paragraph 5 shall be added:

‘5. As a complement to the activities planned in the multiannual framework programme, the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall establish the measures necessary for the implementation of the European research area.’.

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Renumbering the Treaty of Lisbon (ToL)

The Table of equivalences of the original Treaty of Lisbon tells us that Title XVIII first became Title XVIII with the addition of space in the TFEU (ToL), and renumbered Title XIX Research and technological development and space in the consolidated version.

Article 166 TEC initially became Article 166 TFEU (ToL) before the renumbering of the treaty made it into Article 182 TFEU in the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty (OJEU 17.12.2007 C 306/217–218).

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Lisbon Treaty consolidated

Article 182 TFEU

With the specific amendments and after the horizontal amendments which replaced the Community by the Union and renamed the legislative procedure in paragraph 1 as well as the renumbering of the Article, Article 182 TFEU appears like this in the consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115/129–130):

(TITLE XIXRESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND SPACE)

Article 182 TFEU(ex Article 166 TEC)

1. A multiannual framework programme, setting out all the activities of the Union, shall be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure after consulting the Economic and Social Committee.

The framework programme shall:

— establish the scientific and technological objectives to be achieved by the activities provided for in Article 180 and fix the relevant priorities,

— indicate the broad lines of such activities,

— fix the maximum overall amount and the detailed rules for Union financial participation in the framework programme and the respective shares in each of the activities provided for.

2. The framework programme shall be adapted or supplemented as the situation changes.

3. The framework programme shall be implemented through specific programmes developed within each activity. Each specific programme shall define the detailed rules for implementing it, fix its duration and provide for the means deemed necessary. The sum of the amounts deemed necessary, fixed in the specific programmes, may not exceed the overall maximum amount fixed for the framework programme and each activity.

4. The Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure and after consulting the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt the specific programmes.

5. As a complement to the activities planned in the multiannual framework programme, the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall establish the measures necessary for the implementation of the European research area.

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Main changes

The ordinary legislative procedure and the special legislative procedures do not change the substance of the provision.

The new fifth paragraph takes over the substance of Article III-251(4) of the Constitutional Treaty, which means that a specific legal base is created for the European research area.

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EU research competence

In the general ordering of European Union competence, the Lisbon Treaty deals with research in under shared competence, but with a particular twist. Article 4(3) TFEU states:

3. In the areas of research, technological development and space, the Union shall have competence to carry out activities, in particular to define and implement programmes; however, the exercise of that competence shall not result in Member States being prevented from exercising theirs.

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FP7 – Seventh Framework Programme (2007–2013)

Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013), published in OJEU 30.12.2006 L 412/1, is available here:

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/971/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the Specific Programme "Cooperation" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013), published OJEU 30.12.2006 L 400/86, is available here:

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/972/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013), published in OJEU 30.12.2006 L 400/243, is available here:

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/973/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013), was published in OJEU 2006 L 400, but the link did not lead to the first page of the Decision; look for page 270 manually.

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Capacities programme

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/974/EC of 19 December 2006 on the Specific Programme: "Capacities" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013), published OJEU 30.12.2006 L 400/299, is available here:

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/975/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the Specific Programme to be carried out by means of direct actions by the Joint Research Centre under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013), published OJEU 30.12.2006 L 400/368, is available here: